Smoothies
jlong
Posted 5/1/2005 2:38 PM (#145291)
Subject: Smoothies





Posts: 1937


Location: Black Creek, WI
My Garcia Morrums are in need of new drag washers. Where's the best place pick up some Smoothies. Also, any tips on putting them in would be appreciated. Thanks.

jlong
EsoxRookie
Posted 5/1/2005 7:28 PM (#145315 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 107


Location: milwaukee
Hatteras Outfitters sells Smoothies:

http://hatterasoutfitters.com/

Best tip is to get the schematic from the Abu website and take your time. When I disassemble Ambassadeurs for maintentance, I just lay the parts on a clean cloth in the same order they came out. You want to pay close attention to the orientation of the two spring washers and make sure they go back in the same way.
theedz155
Posted 5/2/2005 5:19 AM (#145337 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 1438


J Lo-

I bought mine direct from the company.

Smooth Drag

Hope this helps.

Scott

Edited by theedz155 5/2/2005 5:29 AM
Mark H.
Posted 5/2/2005 6:27 AM (#145344 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies




Posts: 1936


Location: Eau Claire, WI
Chuck has them at Sportsman's in Wausau as well. Love them... makes the drags in Garcia's actually adjustable and useable...

I do a dozen or so reels a year for local folks. No rea trick to installing Smoothies "J", just make sure the intermediate thrust plate (the one with the ears on it) stays in place. Sometimes the Smoothies are a little curved and make the drag thrust plates lift up a little. No biggie just take your time.

I use the Smoothie Ultra's and have no complaints, great product at a fair price.
jlong
Posted 5/2/2005 12:52 PM (#145394 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 1937


Location: Black Creek, WI
Cool. Thanks guys.

With the opener just a few days away... looks like I"m gonna have to try installing them myself.

When I have the reel put back together... how many extra parts should I have????

jlong
nwild
Posted 5/2/2005 1:39 PM (#145398 - in reply to #145394)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 1996


Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain
From my experience J, you should have several. Several ranges anywhere from 2-7, depending on how many beverages accompanied my amateur reel repair.

That's why I have Chuck Nelson do all of mine now!
C_Nelson
Posted 5/2/2005 8:54 PM (#145458 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 578


Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI
The new drag washers do not go bad, people just over grease the reels or the original grease gets down into the drag system from use. Disassemble, wipe down, reassemble and lightly grease gears.

If you really want smoothies, make your own. Basically just plastic milk cartons cut into the size of drag washers.

I once worked on a reel for a guy that had smoothies in and was having problems. I asked him if I could play with the drag system. He said sure. I put original drag washers back in and set him up. I asked him to report back on what he thought. After a month of hard use, he came back and said the drag is working fantastic, what did you do? I told him that I just put original drag washers back in. He was very, very happy.

Your thumb is the best drag anyway. I free spool whenever a musky goes to take line. Have yet to lose one doing this and will continue to do it as well.

Chuck
theedz155
Posted 5/3/2005 5:22 AM (#145497 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 1438


See Norm...

You just paid Chuck to take your smoothies out and put the originals back in.

Scott
nwild
Posted 5/3/2005 7:52 AM (#145516 - in reply to #145497)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 1996


Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain
Theedz, you are so close to being accurate it aint funny!

Well maybe a little funny.
RAZE1
Posted 5/3/2005 8:14 AM (#145522 - in reply to #145516)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 938


Location: NeverNever Lake
Jason, you might want to look into the Penn HT-100 washers too. Not sure if they have a size that will retrofit a Morrum. I just put them in 2 of my Calcutta's and like the way they tighten up with less effort..

Give Mike a call, he also stocks Smoothies:

http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/catalog/
jlong
Posted 5/3/2005 9:47 AM (#145543 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 1937


Location: Black Creek, WI
Chuck... I agree that freespool is the way to go when fighting a fish.... but I can no longer tighten down the drag enough to prevent slippage on the hookset. Thus, I gotta try something. Do you really think just cleaning the existing washers will do the trick?

I'm also surprised that you gotta call the company to figure out what smoothies you need for the ABU products. I'm beginning to like the idea of just giving my reel 5 year old reels their first cleaning (ha ha).

jlong
mreiter
Posted 5/3/2005 9:59 AM (#145551 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 333


Location: menasha wi 54952
Hey J,

Bring one along on Tuesday night and we will see how many extra parts we can come up with.

MR

TanMan
Posted 5/3/2005 5:18 PM (#145644 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies




Posts: 108


Location: Toronto, ON
Jlong,

I have the extreme smoothies in a 6500--much improved drag performance and range. Try this website for more options:

http://www.hatterasoutfitters.com/ Go to 'Reels', then to 'Reel Candy', lots of choices and upgrades.

C_Nelson
Posted 5/3/2005 6:29 PM (#145658 - in reply to #145291)
Subject: RE: Smoothies





Posts: 578


Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI
Hey Jason,

Just cleaning the washers should do it. The washers in the newer Abu's (C3's and after, not the C's) are easy to take care of. Matter of fact, the older ones are easy too. The older ones are more prone to going bad if the drag is left tightend on it as they are a fiber.

Many reel repair places will replace drag washers in the older reels even though it is rarely necessary. A single sided razor blade and the washers and you can make them close to as good as new. They will probably be black from the oil and grease when they should be a grayish color. Lay the washers on a flat, hard surface. Take the blade and gently scrape the top of the washer to take off the old, oily part. It will then become rough like it should be and can be put back together. No cost to the customer either, even though they usually get charged for new ones by places even if this is done.

Reel repair places are going to hate me for divulging all of this info. They are not going to be able to get away with charging for certain parts. First the trick with the worm gear and pawl and now the drag washers. Shall we try squeeling reels now??LOL

Chuck